Silva on Disrespecting Cote: ‘Absolutely Not True’

Although he was winning the fight before Cote’s injury in the third
round, the UFC middleweight champion was booed by fans for his
evasive strategy and later he was even criticized by some for
“disrespecting” his opponent.

“There are many people saying I was disrespecting Cote, but this is
absolutely not true,” Silva told Sherdog.com. “My game plan since
the beginning was fight five rounds, inducing him to commit
mistakes and capitalize on that during the first three rounds and
look for the knockout during the fourth and fifth rounds. It was
working, and the biggest proof of that is that I almost didn’t
waste any blows. I connected with a couple of good punches and
knees, but unfortunately he got hurt and the fight was over. This
is not my fault.”

Asked about a possible rematch with Cote, Silva left it to UFC
President Dana White, who was openly baffled by the Brazilian’s
performance.